Amen!

Beautifully written.

Hi gavra-at-work.

You were replying to a specific point. One you created and bent to fit what you had to say. lol

You can go on and on, but the point is if someone comes to your door or is collecting tzedaka in any manner, and you are wondering if they are legit; give. Dont hold back.

It is a mitzva to give and the heavens act accordingly.

The way you said what you did, is dangerous. Had someone NOT been a fraud, even though you suspected it, and you refrained from giving. THAT is a transgressing; a big one.

Please dont poskin for people to gamble on chas vshalom making a transgression in tzedaka. Give two dollars or some change. Aight? lol

I am sure there are other proofs, but I quickly found that the Aruch Hashulchan states that if you suspect a person may be a fraud in collecting clothing, you can investigate it because the person can wait.

BUT..if you suspect a person may be a fraud who is requesting food, do not investigate it.

Also, if you are ‘CERTAIN’ the person is a fraud, as I state earlier, obviously, do not give, which is also stated in the Aruch HaShulchan.

Naturally, I am open to you finding a proof for holding back tzedaka because you have a feeling the person is a fraud. You are free to create a new scenario so your view fits, too.

Hi always here.

That does it! lol

Jimi at Woodstock AND Pig Pen backstage in 1971? I fold; I turn in my cards! lol.

I am particularly fond of the Dead during the era up to 71′. Pig Pen’s Hammond Organ and Jerry’s intensely psychedelic guitar riffs. Europe ’72 is awesome too; different sound than the prior, even Warlock years. It’s all great!

You mentioned the Allmans, and I suppose that was when Duane was around. What about Watkins Glen? Ok…we can go on forever..as you know.. lol

Those were interesting and unique times. It’s good to dust off those strings once in a while and make ’em shine.

Now we are truly on the golden road to unlimited devotion; Torah. It doesn’t get any better!

Peace!

Very interesting posts and very interesting points. : )

Hi always here.

While I was too young to go to Woodstock, I was in the Catskills at the time stringing beads..lol But I was there in spirit and wish I coulda been there.

I can only imagine what it was like to be there. You must have some stories to tell!

And you had to rub it in that you were up front. Just dont tell me you saw Jimi. Forget it..all of them…. CSN, Country Joe, Santana, Richie Havens, Alvin Lee, Jefferson Airplane..dont get me started… lol

Nice to meet you! : D

This is a very interesting dilemma.

I was just talking about such a thing with a well-known Rabbi who said the main reason people should follow a hechsher and not rely on ingredients is that you need a degree in chemistry to know what is kosher or not.

He stated when he was a child, though, yidden could go into a gentile bake shop and buy bread which was kosher by the fact the ingredients were very basic.

It is very possible this girl had a parent or grandparent look into the matter, and the ingredients were merely cocoa, sugar, and some other very basic ingredients which are known to be kosher. Many organic foods are very basic like that.

What adds to this confusion, for me, is how the question of Slurpees being kosher from kashered or not kashered machines, especially if a dairy drink was stored in the very same “compartment” was ruled as not being an issue due to something about the machines and dairy being so negligible that it does not threaten the kashrus status of Slurpees. To me, even though they are correct, it appears as a loosening of standards.

The Torah, tragically, is so misunderstood.

Many shiurim are based on offering surprising clarifications of ideas and concepts that are such to even to those who learn daily. When casual “readers” of the Torah react to what they read, things can go very wrong.

There is an endorsed site which touches on this fact very well.

http://talmud.faithweb.com/

I am asking this question in general. Why is Iowa a big deal?

When I heard that Ron Paul was doing well there, it immediately came to mind that Iowa should be no litmus test for the rest of the country.

Conservatism would be big in Iowa, so that may explain the Santorum deal since he is staunchly pro-life.

But also part of that landscape is bigotry, particularly unique to Iowa, which explains Ron Pauls popularity.

Iowa is second in KKK membership only to Mississippi. Iowa ACLU are the ones who had it out for R’ Rubashkin, and to throw the book at him. Hence, Ron Paul’s popularity out there.

Why DO we look to Iowa for anything?

The America voter is very fickle and will be greatly influenced. But, between now and the convention, a lot can happen, and always does. Ya’ year that Donald? lol

They have zero point at all. I dont even believe they are Jews. My suspicions are they are government plants or paid for by George Soros or some other wacko.

They take a point, Zionism, and totally exploit that point to open the door to the absurd, and to antisemitism.

To not want there to be a political Israel IS a point. To then pose in photo opps, arm in arm, huge smiles, with professed enemies of Israel and Jews, such as A-jad, who calls for eventual murder, etc. chas v shalom, is another thing entirely.

This alleged group may as well call for Humpty Dumpty to be king and then shake hands and pose with smiles in pictures along with the rashayim world leaders of today.

Their stance on Zionism is just another hateful thing for them to stand for.

NK’s statements and actions can just as easily be those of the KKK, Xtian hate groups, or other such sort of neo nazi groups, except NK is in Jewish costume.

I would give them zero validity, no matter what they say.

Hi moreDow.

You have a right to want what you want and I hope things go in the way you like.

I dont know you, but since you say you have been around the block, I guess you have not gone further. So, you have no other option because a girl who has been around the block also does not like to go further so how can you two meet, unless you two live on the same street?

All seriousness aside, if those days are just a memory and you are no longer holding to hanging out like that, I have heard enough shiurim to know it is as if you hit the “delete” button on a computer, and you dont even have to think about those days or talk about them, because Hashem doesnt.

On a final note, sometimes learning a lesson the hard way is a very strong character builder, so please dont assume a girl who you feel may have also been around the block (if that is true, and to what degree) may not also want to walk the straight and narrow now.

Hatzlacha!

Hi postsemgrl.

Pair of legal what????

Hi always.

I quit long before the 4:20 thing became part of the vernacular. lol. But I know what it means and I dont judge on that basis alone. I do believe “partaking” has been totally removed from an intellectual/cultural framework and is indulged in by people I dont want to hang out with because they are more street and dumb than anything else, for the most part.

Hi Coffee Addict.

So you have heard the argument before. Great! Frequency or infrequency of hearing something does not really lend itself to validation or invalidation.

I dont really see where we are in disagreement, although we dont have to agree. It’s “funner” not to .

lol

Hi HaLeiVi.

Thank you for clarifying that. Very interesting.

Hi Health.

What am I going to do with you? lol

You say, “Not defending the spitter, but his spitting was a reaction to the provocation. Yes, they shouldnt start up with bringing their kids to school with them not dressing properly!”

Whoa!! I want to avoid a whole schmear of verbiage between us, so just answer me this, if you dont mind:

You said that spitting is bad and that you are “not defending the spitter”. Do you really think no one will see any semblance of a defense for the spitter in your above quoted statement????

This is why we go round in circles, I believe. Maybe you express yourself with using words and terms more loosely than I am used to.

Perhaps you might want to tighten up your thoughts in writing to avoid misrepresenting yourself.

I believe you see a point to both sides. I have to add, though, that even if the girl came to school dressed in shorts, one would have to be a complete idiot to spit at that child in the name of Torah.

As individuals, we all have a need to correct ourselves. Sometimes as a community that may be the case too.

.

Hi coffee addict.

I respect the idea of being self sufficient.

But the implication that the government is a separate entity, is not true. Our lives are soaked in government. Taxation is just one area.

We are taxed at the register, in our weekly paychecks, at the end of the year… We are taxed by our municipality, the state, and the federal government.

We basically pay and pay and pay. If government actuaries, or whatever, determine that a person in such and such a situation and income is entitled to assistance, then what point is to be made by denying oneself?

If one truly believes in not relying on the government, then they should protest any government involvement in their lives and refuse to participate in contributing, rather than refuse to benefit.

But to fully cooperate and pay all those taxes and then deny yourself assistance, if needed, proves what point? There is no honor in that.

I think taxpayers are more entitled to benefit from assistance, if they are taxpaying citizens who qualify, than to use coupons to buy things at a discount. Why not pay full price to be honorable?

Hi always runs with scissors fast.

You dont have to answer, and I will totally respect your decision to not answer, but are you implying you grew up in the Rainbow family or similar commune?

In my preteen and after days, I was steeped in the Kesey, prankster, yippie revolution mindset of the world and found it to be both a brilliant world at best, yet problematic with every Tom, Dick, and Harry jumping on the bandwagon not for the intellectual or cultural reasons.

You must be the most unique person I have come across in any world. To genuinely know of the counter-cultural (truly different in real life than how it is looked upon by outsiders) world and now Torah, makes you a hugely intriguing person.

I dont think there is anyone (other than me, to a lesser degree lol) quite like you.

There are so many questions I want to ask, but I dont want to take up too much space with them or invade your privacy.

Hi Health.

You are so wrong.

lol

gaiva and the yetzer hora.

Hi Health.

I hate to say it but either you have a comprehension problem, misunderstand the context of a post (which is epidemic in blogging and texting) or are being extremely childish in wanting to “win” when you cant really “win” with someone of a differing opinion.

But, in this case, you do “win” because I am tired of having to spell things out and then you go off point to try to save your point, which you dont have to do since your opinion is valid to you and you own it, as I do mine.

Sooooo….is it safe to say that we both think what happened to this girl was a bad thing and this is newsworthy and an embarrassment to Jews?

Hi always runs with scissors.

Your topic is really touching on countless things that can be said that come from a well with no bottom. I dont know where to start, but will try to be brief and keep it to one topic.

I think people like us, and we need to talk about this, will always measure every moment of their day by contrasting where they came from, where they are, and where they are going.

For us, the “why” is huge. Our ability to question and think and wonder, BH, has brought us here, and we have no option but to go further. If we didnt think, we would not be here. No one does what we do because of convenience or ease. We do it because we came to believe and for meaning, in spite of the many obstacles, and then we develop a true love for what we do.

This is my view and is not meant to be pushed on anyone, but in my view, I never second guess what I am doing nor do I second guess my life experiences. They are all valid, meaningful, with many cherished experiences.

I remind myself that among our Avos, Avraham Avinu did not deal solely in a frum community. He expressed love for his son Ishmael, a “non-Jew”. Yitzchok Avinu raised and loved a child, Esav, who was “not Jewish”, and Yitchok Avinu’s own brother, again, Esav, was anyone but someone he would walk to shul with.

Additionally, Moshe Rabbeinu grew up among people who were not like him, and we learned Yosef, too, was not strictly living in a Boro Park or Lakewood.

Rashi had dealings with secular scholars of France regarding French linguistics. Rambam was a physician who did not deal exclusively with Jews on a day to day basis.

I can go on and on. Everything we have done is all valid and meaningfully defining our precious lives.

But I also would like to add that my personal view, and no one has to agree, is that it is better to be FFB. To me, as a teacher, and coming across kids who go OTD and seeing them without kippa, tzit tzis, eating treif, etc., and they talk to me about these things….. To me, when I look at them, the “frumness” is still in them. To me, they are frum kids having a problem.

Having said that, if I were to do the same thing, I would not see myself as a “frum” person who is having a problem. I have to stay on; all the time, and keep growing, with G-ds help, to feel I am expressing my love for Hashem, Torah, and Judaism and being Jewish.

That is my personal feeling and I may be wrong and I dont say that to discourage anyone. There is a lot to be said for what we do in trying to swim into a sea of infinite things to learn, do, and feel, because we believe it is the right thing to do. And, our obstacles are unique.

Have much have I written? I am probably contributing to global warming at this point..lol

Again, what you are doing and what you are doing for your wonderful family, makes you a true tzadeikas. Dont forget that. All of us benefit from how high you have climbed and the amazing good things you are adding to the pot that affect all of us. Hashem sees you and knows.

: D

Hi sem20.

lol. Its true about Pesach, too. It is very easy to over eat as a Jew with all this good food around, BH.

Seems like folks posted some nice ideas.

😀

Hi Health.

So basically, your answer is to not be friendly since these muslims are just waiting to literally stab a Jew in the back, chas v’shalom.

I am no fan of arab muslims, but I have heard more than one story from Israelis about arabs they were friendly with and worked with in Israel.

My parents, too, have this egyptian friend who was their car salesperson. This guy is still friendly with them over the years and brings over gifts and stuff from egypt and calls kibbitzes with them. I dont get why either one of them bother, but its true.

I guess if these neighbors are friendly and showing their baby, for the frum neighbors to get a little baby gift would be a huge kiddish Hashem.

We seriously need to chill out on this tar and feathering/ online pogrom business.

As of recent date, the site is batting zero (0 for 2) on the most publicized cases. Yet, they were pursued, against warnings, with the utmost conviction and determination.

Mechila is in order again.

While I am not saying you agree with me at all, thank you YW Moderator 42 for looking into this complex thing and explaining it with clarity.